Simonne & The Dark Stars continues the come back of female artists and a backing band called something flashy and she also pushes the piano to the fore of her music. In this, their first single release, a trio of tracks hint at good things to come in this rough round the edges record.
“Love Like You Never” opens with jazzy piano and an angsty drums and bass. Simonne’s voice has quite a range as she struts her stuff calling out “I wanna know” to a catchy piano hook. There’s also a cool theremin sound effect that’s used to great effect. The track itself falls in between cabaret jazz and piano alternative and is the strongest track. “Don’t Be Late” reminds me of Madness with its ska undertones. Simonne’s voice sounds very big yet squashed in the mix as the saxophone sounds like it’s being played in another room. It’s the lack of polish on mastering and sound volumes that just stops this track being immediately loveable and playful as it makes it sound flat. If there was more dynamics involved, the song would feel more bombastic and work even better. “Dark Night of the Soul” rounds of the dark cabaret with a dramatic marching funeral. It reminds me of Marc Almond’s penchant for dark and brooding b-sides. It’s great to show the darker side of the music next to the playful previous track and whets my appetite for more.
Simonne & The Dark Stars are interesting. They push way more smoky jazz cabaret than they initially project and so feel quite fresh and unique when they take that to the alt-piano rock realms. Just a little polishing on the production and they could make a very interesting future prospect. Keep your eye on these lot…